Monday, June 24, 2013

Hey everyone! Hope you had a great weekend! Today's outfit is a look from this past weekend, and if you follow me on Instagram, you would've seen this top and probably also noticed a trend of my latest obsession with beaded/embellished tops. I got this one pretty recently and was super excited to wear it, so I came up with this pairing. Just a small sidetrack - if you all are familiar with the collection line, you'll also know that this top comes in a light blue oxford which I think is also beautiful and maybe a little easier to dress down. I really wanted to focus the attention on the top, and I tried a couple combinations before finally settling with the mint green skirt. It's definitely a top that pops more with a light colored bottom and a simple silhouette so nothing distracts from the beautiful bead work. This also led me to my choice of a nude shoe so the eye immediately goes to my shirt instead of my shoes! What're your latest obsession for this season? Let me know in the comments below :) Thanks for reading!!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Hey there! Hope you all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend :) The star of today's outfit is this pair of vintage jogger pants by Laura Ashley, and it's one of those gems my mom dug out the depths of her magical closet for me. I literally swooned when I saw them and tried them on for the first time, and I'm actually quite depressed that Laura Ashley is no longer around...Laura where'd you go?? These pants are living proof that fashion continually comes full circle because these printed jogger/harem style pants are back in our fast fashion stores once again, but none have a floral print as beautiful as this one. I picked from the subdued hues in this print and went with an airy taupe blouse and a mossy green belt. Topped off with my new favorite shoes, this is one of those outfits that make a day better for me simply because I love what I'm wearing. Anyone else ever feel that way? Also let me know in the comments below if you sported tons of Laura Ashley floral dresses when they were younger, cause I totally did! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all Monday :)

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Hey everyone! Back today with another post in a familiar pair of pants from last month's Anchors Aweigh! post. This time I went with a more casual but still preppy look, and went with a mint and navy combo with classic stripes to match my nautical pants. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good full body shot so I did the best I could by giving snippets of my outfit in segments. Since I do a lot of pattern mixing in my outfit posts, I guess a good tip on playing with patterns is to combine a bigger pattern with a smaller pattern. For example, if you're mixing florals and stripes, you wouldn't want to pair a smaller floral print with lots of thin stripes, or vice versa. In my pairing, the anchor print is quite small, so I went with stripes that were a bit thicker. I also love to top it off with a statement piece just to add a little bit of sparkle and dress up the look a little bit more :)

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to follow me via Instagram @refined_couture!! If you try out any pattern mixing in your ootd's, you can hashtag #refinedcoutureblog so I can check it out!

Monday, June 17, 2013

Hey everyone! Sorry I disappeared for a week - I got sick (again), and the weather hasn't been all that great here lately so its made taking pictures a bit difficult. I was very excited about this outfit when I first put it together because I've been eyeing this top for months now ever since it hit the stores. I absolutely love the jeweled medallion details! It's currently on sale in stores, but be warned it runs pretty large...I'm wearing an XXS and I'm usually a S, sometimes XS, in J.Crew. I love playing with details and a little bit of pattern, so these super dark wash skinnies were the perfect fit with the subtle floral detailing. I actually found them in the kids section at Old Navy for a steal, and they run quite large because I'm wearing a size 12. I highly recommend because they're rather flattering (more flattering than any of Old Navy's regular women's jeans) and ridiculously comfortable!

One last thing, for those of you Instagram addicts (totally guilty) - I'm now on Instagram! I recently posted a few other embellished tops I picked up along with this one from J.Crew and the shoes I'm wear in this post, so check it out and follow me @refined_couture! Thanks :)

Happy Friday! This is actually a look from the past weekend, but I didn't get a chance to photograph and then upload until more recently. I spent some time with family and met up with more family that I hadn't seen in awhile, and essentially spent the entire day eating lots of delicious food so it's a good thing I chose a skirt with an elastic waist band. Food baby be gone! (I actually really hate the phrase food baby...the thought of being impregnated with a fetus made of food gives me the heebie jeebies...) I've had this skirt for years and haven't worn it in a long time so I decided to experiment and see how I could make this skirt more current and a more mature style since I bought it to wear when I was in high school. I chose the ever trending chambray with a statement necklace and transitioned the colors with a coinciding turquoise belt. I thought the cut out pumps gave it a dressier look while still suiting the style of this outfit more. Not sure if this skirt should finally be retired. Thoughts? As always, thanks for reading! Hope you all have a pleasant weekend :)

Hi loves! Hope you're all having a great week so far! Today's outfit, when broken down to basics, is actually a classic go-to look for me as one of my all time favorite outfits to wear because it is simple yet feminine and very put together. For an outfit like this, I always pick one piece as my base to start my pairing, and for this particular look it was the pants - I was in the mood for my fun, coral-y red cords from Madewell. I decided to keep it extremely classic and chose a white blouse, but added an extra touch by choosing one with some pretty detail. My next step was to find a matching statement necklace, which is my cheat to really pulling an outfit together. The big floral elements makes the overall look more girly (plus I just really, and I mean really, love flowers...haha). Next, the finishing touches were shoes and a belt. The belt was a no brainer - something thin and minimal but matching a hue in the outfit, and in this case it was a color from my necklace. And last, I went with one of my all time favorite vintage loafers from Talbots because the beautiful cognac/mahogany leather added just a hint of richness to the outfit. If you take a look at some of my outfit posts in the past, you'll see essentially this same outfit pop up in various forms of color and pattern. What's your go-to outfit pairing? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks for reading!!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Hey girlies :) It's been a beautiful couple of days, and I thought I'd share with you all a recent look I put together with this adorable dress from Target. As most of you should know, I love chambray and I love polka dots (proof here). Thus, when I saw this dress I knew it had to be mine! It has a bit of an acid wash, but the material is super comfortable and it's just a very easy dress to wear. It does have to be accessorized with a belt because it has a cinched in, elastic-band waistline that isn't too pretty when left uncovered. I actually had a bit of trouble finding a belt to match this dress. I originally thought a brown leather belt would do the trick but after trying it out, I wasn't too much of a fan. The waistband is also on the thicker side, so the belt had to be big enough to cover it. This is probably the biggest downside to this dress. I kept the rest pretty simple and chose to wear my DV by Dolce Vita wedges that I've been wearing a lot lately simply because they're easy to match with all different outfits and they're also the most comfortable to walk in for an entire day since it's a platform espadrille wedge. If you guys have any belting tips for this particular dress, let me know in the comments below! :) See you in the next one and thanks for reading!

I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend as we welcomed the month of June! Today's outfit is a look that channels my inner hippie (yes, I totally went through a boho chic phase in my pre-blog, pre-college life). I love this top because it reminds me so much of Free People in all its drapey, lace-trimmed tunic glory. I kept the color palette light to counter all the fabric and added a braided leather belt for a more polished figure. The look is just as cute sans belt if you prefer the more free-spirited, wild child look which I would go with if I had worn this outfit with some torn up shorts to an outdoor concert :) From the photos it is hard to tell, but my pants are the same champagne pink pair from my Petal Pink post! And I can't leave without mentioning these booties I got from DSW. Felmini is a Portuguese brand which I haven't seen anywhere else aside from DSW, and they're on the pricier side but they are amazing quality and comfort! I couldn't pass them up, and I can't wait to style them with more pieces, including dresses/skirts and shorts. Let me know in the comments below how you like to style booties for spring/summer! Thanks for reading!